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Miranda hugged Natalie, too. “I know you’ll do the right thing. Congratulations, sweetheart. We are so proud of you.”
“So proud,” Nate echoed.
Natalie rushed back to the driver’s side and slipped into the car, honking once and waving out the window as she left.
Nate looked at Summer. “I can’t believe I have two full-grown daughters now.”
Summer grinned. “One to go.”
They all walked to the house. Inside the glass foyer, she and Cody headed right, both of them saying good night to Nate and Miranda.
Cody kept Summer going up the stairs to his room. The first thing he did, like every night they came up here, was to close the drapes along the tall, wide windows that overlooked the pool and the other side of the house. They didn’t need any prying eyes on them when they were alone up here.
“I’m going to ask my dad if there’s an office I can use at the company.”
Cody turned to her. “You can use mine whenever you like.”
She shook her head. “That’s not going to work for the long term. If I’m on a call, or you are, we’ll be distracting the other. Plus we need our own space to do our jobs.”
Cody stood very still. “Does this mean you’re going to work from here full-time?”
“No.”
Cody deflated. “What are you saying then?”
“That we need to find a compromise.”
“Do you actually want to run Sutherland Industries?”
“It’s what I’ve been raised and educated to do.”
One side of Cody’s mouth drew back. “That doesn’t answer my question.”
“Well, that’s my answer. I’m good at it. I appreciate what my grandfather has done for me all these years. I believe in the company and what we do there. It feels like it’s mine.” That was the first time she really admitted it and felt it in her heart.
“And you don’t want to give it up. It’s okay to say that,” he assured her.
She appreciated that he understood she was trying not to make it sound like she was choosing work over him. “I don’t want it to be the thing that comes between us, so I’m trying to find a way.”
“I suppose I’ll need an office at Sutherland Industries then.”
She stared at him, completely taken aback. “Why?” She hoped he gave her the answer she wanted so badly that she held her breath and waited.
“Because I don’t want to be away from you. If you’re there. I’ll be there. If you’re here. I’ll be here.”
“Can you do that?”
“I own a quarter of the company. I can do whatever the hell Iwant.” Cody came to her, cupping her face and looking her right in the eye. “Maybe it won’t always work out and I’ll have to be here for something when you have to be there, but we’ll promise each other, right here, right now, we will spend more days together than we ever spend apart.”
“I promise.”
“I promise, too. And I know it hasn’t been easy these last few weeks, working from here when your grandfather can’t do something without your input.”
“I think he misses me, and this is his way of staying connected to me.”
“I get that. And I know your mom’s been a whole other drama. I’m not sure how I’m going to get past what she did to you and Nate, but for you, I’ll always try to be civil.”
“Thank you, Counselor.”
